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Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2011

Based on a centuries-old legend of tea-picking monkeys, this title tells a tale full of vivid characters: a heartless Overseer, an enigmatic Royal Tea-Taster and, in a faraway land, and an Empress with a liking for tea.

Synopsis

Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet, Elspeth Graham

Monkeys come to the rescue of a struggling family in this traditional tale from a Carnegie Medal winner. Tashi lives in a tiny village below the tea plantations where her mother earns a living. One day her mother falls ill, and Tashi must pick tea to earn the money for a doctor. But she is too small to reach the tender shoots and the cruel Overseer sends her away empty-handed. Tashi needs a miracle. Then, on the mountains high above the plantation where only monkeys live, something extraordinary happens that will change her life for ever...Based on a centuries-old legend of tea-picking monkeys, Cloud Tea Monkeys is a richly told tale full of vivid characters: a heartless Overseer, an enigmatic Royal Tea-Taster and, in a faraway land, an Empress with a liking for tea.

About the Author

Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham live in Devon, in a house not too far from the sea. Elspeth writes in a room on the ground floor while Mal writes in the attic. Sometimes they meet in the middle to write books like this one. It is Elspeth who finds the seeds the stories grow from. She found the seed for Cloud Tea Monkeys while working on a book about tea. Mal is the author of teenage novels Keeper (9781406303933), Exposure (9781406306491) and Carnegie Medal-winning Tamar (9781406303940). Juan Wijngaard, whose parents are Dutch, was born in South America. He came to London in 1970 and studied Illustration at the Royal College of Art. Since then he has produced over thirty books for children, including Green Finger House, his first book and winner of the Mother Goose Award in 1981, Shakepeare's Globe (9780744592795), Tales of Wonder and Magic (9780744581478)and the Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady. He lives with his family in New Mexico, USA.